Rachel Stamp

NB: written with the help of my mate miKey

Last time I saw Rachel Stamp live, they were a sorry bunch. They were playing the prog orgy of their as-of-then-unreleased second album "Oceans Of Venus" to a half full Astoria who didn't really care. Now, with a new single coming up, they're back and better than ever.

But first the obligatory support-band review. The first one were our mates Tidalmind. The band were on top form and played all our fave songs and a new one called "Company" which was long, but we didn't care. Having met them before the gig, we were also pleasantly surprised to get a namecheck at the beginning of "Healing" (miKey's fave song). By the end, we were raring for the rest of the gig. What we forgot was that Girls On Top were on next.

Girls On Top are a mix of The Sex Pistols and The Hives, in drag, being hit over the head with a blunt stick. The token bloke guitarist is balding and the singer (Vicki DeVice) uses more make up than Michael Jackson's ass. They have songs called "Fuckhead" and "Barbie Is A Smackhead" (the highlight of the set) and are all over 40 years old (we think). Right - that's enough insulting for one review!

After that, it was time for the main event. Stamp burst on with a riotous rendition of metallic album track "Les Oceans De Venus", but it wasn't till the second track, "Pink Skab" that things really got going and they remained that way through new single "Do me in once and I'll be sad, Do me in twice and I'll know better". A major highlight was when guitarist Will began playing Led Zep's legendary "Whole Lotta Love" riff as an intro to first single "Pop Singer".

The newer songs were very well received, especially the hypnotic "Witches Of Angelholm" and the poptastic "Permanent Damage". However, it's the classics that were favourites with the crowd. "I Wanna Be Your Doll" and "_I Got The Worm were the best of them. The main set ended with the amazing "My Sweet Rose", the only song that can reduce me to tears.By the time they went off stage, we thought that was it.

Until, that is, the encore. We were first treated to everyone's favourite "Hey Hey Michael You're Really Fantastic", which was, of course, brilliant. Then it was the AC/DC style mosh-fest of "Black Cherry that got everyone going again. The other A-side to the new single, the as yet unheard "Homemade Sex Change" became the crowds new favourite song, having been introduced as "Something you can try at home as long as you have a phone nearby" and containing lyrics like "I want a cunt and I want it now". It was now time for the obligatory obscure b-side to end proceedings, and again, we were subjected to the T-Rex cover "Calling All Destroyers", which everyone somehow knew the words to.

The final rallying cry of the night came from singer David Ryder-Prangley (the best name in music): "Rachel Stamp loves you", but of course, we already knew that. We just hope they know that you love Rachel Stamp.